Abstract
When some heat producing procedure is applied to a localized region of the body, it is difficult to secure any substantial elevation of temperature in that region above that of the body temperature due to the efficient heat regulatory mechanism which the body possesses. The heat produced locally is rapidly dispersed, the other regions of the body actively entering into the process of heat dissipation. 1 In the live anesthetized dog placed in the field of a high frequency current, the different organs heat up at approximately the same rate, the blood serving as a very efficient distributing mechanism of the generated heat. 2 In the following communication it is shown that when the systemic temperature is elevated by radiothermy an increased local temperature may be produced and maintained simultaneously in the vagina by applying additional electrical energy in that area. This mechanism has been employed therapeutically by us in the treatment of pelvic inflammations.
The technique for the systemic elevation of temperature in the human subject by means of the high frequency electric field in the radiotherm has been described by Carpenter and Page. 3 The method consists essentially in placing the subject between the plates of a large condenser which forms part of an oscillating circuit. The oscillations in this circuit are produced by the use of radio tubes of appropriate construction (500 watt screen grid in push pull) with the necessary associated equipment for the attainment of a high frequency electric field of high intensity. The frequency commonly used for this work is approximately 10 million cycles per second, corresponding to a wave length of 30 meters. The condenser plates between which the subject is placed are large enough (50×80 cm.) to produce a field over a reasonable part of the volume of the subject, and are separated from one another by a distance of approximately one meter.
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